Urban population density distribution Factors affecting population density

Transport factor Socio-economic factor Historical factor Institutional factor

Transport factor Population tends to cluster in area of high accessibility, usually the city centre, provided by converging transport routes.

Transport factor Improvement in accessibility through transport development may enhance geographical mobility It facilitates various urban processes like rural-urban migration, suburbanization and counter-urbanization (re-urbanization).

Socio-economic factor It involves the comparison of transport cost and land rent

Socio-economic factor The greater the distance from the city centre, the greater the transport costs incurred Land rent is lower due to less keen competition of land (large supply of land in the periphery of the city) Low land value encourages lower intensity of land use for residential purpose (low-density residential houses) Occupying larger space (e.g. detached houses with gardens) It gives rise to the formation of low-density high-income residential suburbs

Socio-economic factor Low-income groups tend to live closer to the city centre for more immediate access to their working places and lower transport costs However, the high land value forces the low-income group to live in small units of land Forming high-density low-income residential area near the city centre (slums in the inner city)

Sheung Wan

Historical factor Due to historical process of urban development, there would be a tendency for higher density development in old urban areas It is probably the result of high housing demand in the old days

Institutional factor Government policy can influence the population density of a city in terms of Urban planning / land use constraints  lower population density in some areas New town programmes + industrial decentralization  population decentralization in suburbs Urban redevelopment programmes  population regeneration in old urban areas All these may reduce the population density gradient  more even distribution of population

Yuen Long

Tung Chung

Tsuen Wan

Tai Po